3towers Observatory Lunar 100/Lunar Features

The Lunar 100 was created by Charles A. Wood who states: "The Lunar 100 list is an attempt to provide Moon lovers with something akin to what deep-sky observers enjoy with the Messier catalog: a selection of telescopic sights to ignite interest and enhance understanding. [It is]... a selection of the Moons 100 most interesting regions, craters, basins, mountains, rilles, and domes."

Woods challenges "...observers to find and observe them all and, more important, to consider what each feature tells us about lunar and Earth history."

To find out more about the Lunar 100 see the Sky & Telescope web site at: http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/moon/article_1199_1.asp.

The Lunar 100 features are arranged from the easiest to view to the most difficult. The Moon itself is L1. L2 is Earthshine, and L3 represents the dichotomy between the Lunar highlands and the Lunar Maria. While the Lunar 100 are concentrated all on the nearside of the Moon, they can not be seen in a single night or a single month. Some of them require special lighting conditions or phases of the Moon, and others, in addition, require very favorable librations of the Moon to bring them into view. The Lunar 100 is an observing list. However, the equipment at the 3towers Observatory was used to image the Lunar 100, mainly using the web cam techniques detailed.

Lunar Features|Lunar 100|Moon Halos|Lunar Webcam Imaging|Lunar Eclipses

Lunar Feature	Lunar Age in days	Thumbnail Image	Comments
31. Taruntius	4.5 days
32. Arago Alpha & Beta	5.5 days		Arago is the crater left and above center. The Arago domes are visible North of Arago (Alpha) and West of Arago (Beta). Lamont is the lava filled crater just South of Arago.
33. Serpentine Ridge	5.7 days
33. Serpentine Ridge	6.05 days
34. Lacus Mortis	7.6 days
34. Lacus Mortis	9.7 days
34. Lacus Mortis	18 days
35. Triesnecker Rilles	7.6 days
35. Triesnecker Rilles	9.3 days
35. Triesnecker Rilles	20.67 days
36. Grimaldi Basin	13 days
36. Grimaldi Basin	13.1 days
37. Baily	13 days		Baily is the large shadowed crater on the Southern edge of the Moon. It is in the lower left hand corner of the image.
37. Baily	13.1 days
37. Baily	25.7 days
38. Sabine and Ritter	5.5 days		Ritter (West) and Sabine (East) are the pair of craters near the bottom of the image. Arago is the crater left and above center. The Arago domes are visible North of Arago (Alpha) and West of Arago (Beta). Lamont is the lava filled crater just South of Arago.
38. Sabine and Ritter	6.05 days		Ritter (above) and Sabine (below) are the larger paired craters just below and left of center.  Lamont is the large lava filled crater just to the right of center.
38. Sabine and Ritter	7.6 days
39. Schickard	11.6 days
39. Schickard	12 days		Schickard is the largest crater in the image. Schiller lies near the right edge. Below Schickard is Nasmyth and Phocylides.
39. Schickard	13 days
39. Schickard	13.33 days
39. Schickard	25.7 days
40. Janssen Rille	4.5 days
40. Janssen Rille	6.1 days
40. Janssen Rille	7.0 days
40. Janssen Rille	8.0 days
40. Janssen Rille	16 days